With almost five months having passed since the Dakar Rally, the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team riders were excited to return to action with all racers completing the opening 280 km special with strong rides, kickstarting the 2021 edition of Rally Kazakhstan in the best way possible.

Focusing on improving his navigational skills during the off season certainly paid off for Ross Branch, as he opened stage one and then raced to a deserving victory aboard his Yamaha WR450F Rally. Despite a minor mistake near the end of the special, the Botswana native had built up a comfortable margin over the chasing pack to maintain his lead and complete the stage with a two-minute gap over second place. The victory marks Ross’ first ever stage win in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.

Ross Branch: A really good first day here in Kazakhstan. It was great to open the stage and my navigation was pretty good. A few mistakes here and there but overall it was on point. It was a pretty fast stage and the bike was on the limit for most of the day, so it was a good test and it’s just great to be back racing. I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’ll open the stage again but I’m confident with my navigation, myself, and the bike, so I’m really excited to get going again.

The second stage of the 2021 Rally Kazakhstan will see the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team take on a 279 km special located to the south-east of the city of Aktau. Ross Branch will have his navigational skills put to the test as he’ll be faced with a maze of desert tracks where mistakes could prove to be costly. At the end of the stage, the team will arrive in Bay Kendirli on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

This weekend brought riders to the challenging mix of curves and speeds presented by the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. MotoGP bikes have been laying rubber around this stunning circuit since its opening in 1992, and now with three decades gone by, racing on this demanding track has just gotten better. This weekend riders weren’t only experiencing Catalan’s slick and bumpy asphalt, but for the first time since our global pandemic, riders got to see a limited amount of fans sit and support from the grandstands.

Darryn Binder

Darryn Binder flew out of the pits during his qualifying session, but unfortunately had his banker lap deleted for exceeding track limits. Picking up the pace in his final run, as part of a large group of riders, Darryn was able to set a flying lap, which saw him place seventh for Sunday’s dogfight—just one place behind his teammate (John McPhee).

Darryn got a good start off the line and maintained his seventh position, but it didn’t take him long to fight his way into the lead. He battled with other riders slipstreaming their way past him down the straights, causing him to fall back to fifth for a short time but Darryn kept himself in the podium fight. As the 21-lap race unfolded Darryn had several short stints in the lead, as he kept himself at the sharp end of the leading group.

With other riders trying to employ tactics at the final corner of the penultimate lap, Binder started the last lap in the lead but was soon swamped at the end of the start-finish straight. Battling hard to recover from eighth and avoiding a few falling riders ahead, Darryn eventually crossed the line fifth, placing him fifth in the championship standings.

DB: “I’m actually not happy with how that race went and the antics at the end of it have annoyed me. I wanted to focus on my race, do it my way, but it wasn’t possible. On the last lap, I wanted to get my head down and get through the pack. In the end, I finished fifth and of course, I’d take that over a DNF. It is what it is. I feel like I was the strongest rider today, but when you’ve got people sitting up on the racing line it’s hard to have a good race. I’m really looking forward to getting to Germany now, especially as we didn’t get a race there last year.”

Brad Binder

Saturday morning saw Brad Binder roaming the top of the timesheets in FP3 and he soon earned a direct entry into Q2. Brad had great pace during qualifying, but his luck ran out as a yellow flag rolled out on his flying lap. The incident forced Binder to roll out during his final flying lap attempt, placing him in eighth for Sunday’s race.

Cloudy skies covered the track on Sunday with temperatures hovering around 25 degrees as the MotoGP KTM quartet pondered between medium and hard tyre options for the 24-lap chase. Both Brad and Miguel opted for hard front and rear tyres, well the rest of the grid went for completely different setups.

Brad got an ok start and held his eighth position on the first lap, but soon found himself in battle with Marc Marquez, Maverick Vinales and Pecco Bagnaia to round off the top ten. Brad rode a clean race inside the top ten and his battle continued with Bagnaia till the closing laps of the race. The South African lost out in the chase to seventh place but by just two-tenths of a second, placing him in ninth in the championship.

BB: “It was a really tough race. I didn’t get the best of starts because someone hit me in Turn 2 and I lost a few positions. I tried to fight my way through but I was really struggling to get out of the corners. I was catching the group in front of me but then with three laps to go my rear tire was finished and it was like my speed fell off a cliff: it was impossible to keep going forward. I would have liked to have done a lot better than eighth place because I felt we had the potential, but I struggled with that rear traction today.”

What an awesome race weekend, full of drama, excitement and confusion. Miguel Oliveira rode a flawless race and brought the KTM boys their first win of the 2021 season. Jorge Martin crashed on the sighting lap and was forced to start from the pitlane, Marc Marquez had his third DNF of the year, Fabio Quartararo got penalised for taking a shortcut and for riding with his leather suits zip, wide open. The championship now heads to the Sachsenring on June 20th for round eight.

Sfiso Themba

“I arrived in Port Elizabeth under a lot of pressure, as I had yet to complete a race this season.

“I had an issue with the quickshifter not working in free practice and official qualifying, so I had to ride using manual shift. Thankfully, the team did an amazing job helping me find the ideal rhythm and setup of the bike.

“In Race 1, the target was to keep up with the front runners and learn the bike over a 12-lap race. The bike just got better and better, and on the second last lap, I made a pass to take the lead in my class. Unfortunately, I lost the position on the last corner, but I still finished 2nd.

“In Race 2, with a much better understanding of the bike and more confidence, I was able to push from the start. I had to find a way to keep in touch with the leader, so I made my move at the hairpin and started chasing. By the end of the race, I had closed the gap, but had to settle for second, which gave me overall 1st for the day.

“It was great to finish a full race meeting and get some points under the belt to start my championship campaign. I’m extremely proud to be with a great team, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Clint Seller

“We were excited coming into the race, as we’d done a lot of development and hard work to get the new Honda to suit my racing style. From the first practice round, we knew we were in a great position, as we were already faster than last year.

“I managed pole position in every session in Friday qualifying, and was fastest in warmup on Saturday morning. In Race 1, I got a great start, and managed to get a 10-second lead that I held to the end.

“In Race 2, we had a small tyre issue that meant I couldn’t push as hard. This resulted in a much closer race, but I still managed to end the day with two wins.

“I’m super-proud of how the team performed, and how Sfiso improved the whole weekend and got two seconds in his class. Overall, a great weekend for the King Price Honda.”

This weekend brought riders back to the sweeping corners of Mugello, a track many fans and riders missed out on last year. Mugello’s very fast 5.2 km layout staged its 35th Grand Prix for what was round six of the 2021 contest and delivered warm and dry late spring conditions.

Darryn Binder

Saturday, saw Darryn Binder roll onto the track for Q2 qualifying, setting a decent lap time on his first outing, securing him 8th. Unfortunately, his second and final flying lap at the end of the session was cut short when red flags were waved, due to an on-track incident. Prevented from improving his initial lap time, Darryn had to consolidate a 16th starting position for Sunday’s race.

Sunday started off on a rather sad note, as the whole MotoGP paddock paid their respects to a fallen rider, Jason Dupasquier. Jason had made an impressive start to his second season in Moto3, consistently scoring points and within the top ten in the standings. Sadly, Jason was involved in a multi-rider incident in Q2 qualifying between turns 9 and 10. FIM did all they could, the session was immediately Red Flagged and he was transferred by a medical helicopter, in a stable state, to Careggi Hospital in Florence. We all soon got the tragic news as the riders lined up on the grid.

As riders and fans of the sport, we send our deepest condolences to Jason’s family, friends, team and loved ones.

Although nearing the back of the grid in 16th, Darryn was eager to make a charge towards the front of the pack…and so he did. Darryn made a great start and slowly made his way up into the top 10—faster corner speed and some slipstreaming aided his progression. Our fellow South African soon found himself momentarily leading the race after diving into the lead on turn 1.

As the saying goes in Moto3, “what goes up must come down” and that is exactly how things went for Darryn. He went from being in the top 5 to just out of the top 10 and back into the top 5. Confusing, but remember this is Moto3, you can get demoted several positions on a single straightaway. Darryn Binder ended the race fifth and earned himself some very important championship points.

DB: “The race was the race today; it’s not something I want to talk about in the circumstances. I want to send my deepest condolences to Jason’s family, his team and his friends. I’m really sad to hear the news. Rest in peace Jason.”

Brad Binder

Brad Binder had a cracker of race weekend, consistently hitting lap-times near the top of the leader board and equalling the fastest top speed recorded figure in MotoGP history—clocking a top speed of 362.4 km/h. In Q2, Binder reached as high as 3rd and was in contention for a front-row slot until he rested in 6th for his highest qualification placing this season, just half a second from pole position.

The last race of the day, saw sunshine and 23-degree temperatures graced the return of MotoGP to the thrilling racetrack in the Tuscan hills north of Florence. Brad lined up on the third row of the starting grid and was “Read to Race” the full 23-laps of Mugello.

Binder made a lively launch off the line, but lost a couple of positions, forcing him into the lower top ten, where he worked his tyres and confidence up to an effective race pace. He also had a scary moment when Marc Marquez bumped into him, causing his airbag to go off. This slowed Brad down for the next lap as his airbag slowly decompressed.

Binder slowly fought his way back to fifth and was less than 5 seconds from winner Fabio Quartararo at the flag. Brad did a phenomenal job this weekend showing the rest of the paddock that he still has that, ‘Sunday Rider’ in him.

BB: “I’m happy with 5th today, even if I did want more but I had a crazy race. I almost tucked the front on the Sighting Lap, so I was trying to work out the conditions and why I felt different. I didn’t have a perfect start and then I was cautious on the first three laps. Marc [Marquez] rode into me and my airbag fired which meant I couldn’t move for almost a lap! After that, I could finally get into a rhythm and chase the group in front of me although I didn’t quite have the pace to get through it. Anyway, I’m pleased with another top-five and we’ll try to keep this momentum for the next races.”

In less than seven days, the Binder’s will be back on track for the Grand Prix of Catalunya, scheduled for 4th-6th June at the Montmelò Circuit, near Barcelona.

In what proved to be an unforgettable weekend of racing, Red Bull KTM snatched up multiple victories at the third round of the National Motocross Championship in Welkom. It was a day of celebration for the entire orange team with MX1 star Tristan Purdon taking top honours, new-recruit Cameron Durow snatching the win in MX2, High School Class talent Jonathan Mlimi extending his points lead, and young gun Trey Cox defending the Pro Mini red plate.

All eyes were on 18-year-old Durow on Saturday, who made it clear from the moment the gates dropped this season that he would be a force to be reckoned with. After setting the fastest qualifying time, the youngster set off to snatch the MX2 victory he has patiently been waiting for since he last won a race in this class in 2019.

The rider started the day with a consistent pace and finished the first moto in second place. He came back swinging in the second moto and his blistering pace saw him get the holeshot. With an overall victory within his reach, Durow pulled an early lead and didn’t look back.

“This is the first time I’ve won in this class since 2019 – I’ve been injured four times since then! I even know the exact number of days since the last win and I’ve been working towards repeating that victory ever since. It meant a lot to me to finally achieve what I have been aiming at for so long,” said Durow.

Putting on yet another eye-catching performance was Red Bull KTM teammate Tristan Purdon. The rider couldn’t have asked for a better day in MX1 when he went 1-1 to take the victory overall. While MX2 proved to be a more challenging race for the rider, Purdon managed to end the day on the podium with a third place overall.

Having defended his points lead in both classes, the motocross star will once again line-up with both red plates in the next round. With his sights set on winning both championships this season, Purdon commented:

“Leading both championships isn’t easy and it comes with a lot of pressure. I’m handling it well because of the support I’ve been getting from the whole team and that makes me want to keep fighting. After MX2 this weekend I’ll be working on my starts leading up to the next round, but overall, I’m happy with the way everything played out.”

Red Bull KTM teammate Jonathan Mlimi was off to an impressive start this weekend when he took the holeshot in the first moto and lead the heat from start to finish. He had a challenging start in the second moto by his own high standards, but managed to fight his way back up to the front of the field to secure the victory overall.

“My KTM 125 SX handled so well – the setup was perfect! I learnt this weekend to be more patient when I’m in a battle to get to the front – I find when I rush the process I tend to make small mistakes. I’m really happy with the way the season is playing out and just plan to stay consistent – that always pays off in the end,” said Mlimi.

A cherry on the top of what was a successful day of racing for Red Bull KTM was yet another consistent performance from young gun Trey Cox. After setting off with the holeshot, the Pro Mini rider had an unfortunate crash in the first moto. With a determination to defend the red plate, he fought his way back up to fourth place. He came back swinging with a solid start in the second heat and held a consistent pace to finish the moto in second place.

“I’m so happy to have held onto the red plate. In the weeks leading up to the next round, I’m going to work on eliminating small mistakes. I’m happy with my pace and learnt this weekend that it’s not over until it’s over – that ‘never give up’ attitude always pays off in the end,” said Cox.

It was a breakthrough weekend of racing for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. The motocross team took on the third round of the season in Welkom last Saturday and brought home a podium position in the MX1, MX2 and Pro Mini Class respectively.

Leading rider David Goosen admits to entering the round without too many expectations after being unable to train as hard as he had intended due to an illness. Having raced consistently at the front end of the MX1 field this season, Goosen had set the specific goal to narrow the gap on the leading riders in MX2.

In one of his most impressive performances of the season, the rider set off with a blistering pace on Saturday to snatch up the win he had been waiting for in the first moto of MX2. With a third place in the final moto, Goosen was pleased to make progress and take second overall.

Adding to the celebration at the Husqvarna camp was yet another consistent performance from Goosen in MX1. In the highly competitive field, he described both motos as a “heated event that certainly didn’t make for easy racing.” Despite the stiff competition, Goosen went 2-2 to take second overall.

“The track conditions were great! The loam soil gets some nice lines and becomes super bumpy – which suits me quite well. My Husqvarna FC 450 and FC 250 were great – I’m really starting to find the sweet spots on both of them. At this point, I’m feeling really motivated for what you could call the ‘second half of the season’. With every race, I feel more excited to work on something new. There are things I want to fine-tune as I aim to bring home some wins, but I’m also just really happy with how consistent I’ve been,” said Goosen.

For Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammate Neil van der Vyver, the day was off to a challenging start. After a slow qualifying time by his own high standard, the youngster made some adjustments to his setup before lining up for the first Pro Mini moto.

With a strong determination to come back swinging, Van der Vyver set off the take the holeshot in the first heat. From the moment he took the lead, the rider never looked back and stormed to his first win in the Pro Mini Class this season.

“It felt great to go from qualifying 17th in practise to taking my first ever Pro Mini win! It’s something I had been working towards all season,” said an elated Van der Vyver.

After a challenging start in the second moto, the rider had to dig deep to keep his composure and fight his way back to the front end of the field to ultimately claim second place overall.

“We ticked a few boxes this weekend and we’re happy with the progress! My pace felt good, my bike felt good – I’m excited to watch our plan for 2021 keep unfolding,” he said.

Husqvarna South Africa’s Brand Manager Fred Fensham gives a closing comment: “This season has been all about getting our two riders comfortable on the bikes and Welkom was proof that we are on the right track. David was super impressive despite coming off some health issues and Neil finally bagged that illusive Pro Mini win – that will certainly give him the confidence he needs to keep building on the 85cc! I am super proud of our two riders bringing home three second overall finishes against really tough opposition!”

To win a motorcycle road racing championship, consistently finishing on the podium is critical. And, on Saturday at Virginia International Raceway, Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz took another important step towards achieving his first MotoAmerica Superbike title when he finished second in Superbike race one. It wasn’t a win, but he and the team will take it, especially at this early point of the season when there are so many races left.

Starting from the front row, Mathew got a good jump off the line, and he immediately went to work and overtook Loris Baz, who started from second on the grid. Running his fastest circulation of the 14-turn, 2.25-mile natural road course on the second go-around of the 20-lap race, Mathew solidified his second-place position, which he maintained all the way to the checkered flag.

“Obviously, after winning in the first race, we were confident that we should be at least challenging Jake (Gagne) all the way through until the final lap,” Mathew said. “I just kind of feel like we have more to gain, and Jake is definitely stronger than us now. So, we just need to try and figure a couple things out. I was able to kind of follow him for the first four or five laps and already figured out where we could recover a couple of tenths and where I was catching him slightly. So, it’s not like we were miles off. We just have to fix one or two things and we should be challenging Jake. Overall, I’m happy to finish second and carry on as the championship leader. Everyone keeps talking about being championship leader, but it’s way too early on to be thinking about that. It’s always nice to be the one that you don’t have to risk everything at every single corner, every single lap. You can settle for those seconds sometimes. I know Jake is definitely coming. I know Josh Herrin, Cameron Petersen, (Loris) Baz, all those guys are picking up their pace. So just going to go back to where we were losing time and try to focus on getting a stronger pace towards the end and not worrying about being in front every single corner. I want to say thank you to my team. They’ve been great. Like I said, we need to maybe try and challenge Jake and get in front of him the first couple laps. He’s setting a really crazy pace, so just try to get it up the inside of him.”

On the opening lap of Sunday’s final race of the weekend, Mathew got caught up in traffic going into turn one. Thankfully, he didn’t suffer a tipover in the incident, but it did shuffle him all the way back to 14th. Undaunted, he went about his business and started clicking off laps as fast as, or faster than, the leaders. On lap 13, he made it all the way back up to third place where he battled with Josh Herrin for a few laps before securing the final spot on the podium on lap 17.

All in all, it was a hero effort from Mathew, who knows that podium finishes all season long are the key to winning his first MotoAmerica Superbike title.

“I just saw one of the M4 Suzuki bikes coming up the inside, so I gave him space,” Mathew commented. “I could have followed him, but I don’t know what happened from there. I think Cam (Petersen) ran off the track. I’m not sure if he got touched. It’s just one of those unfortunate things. I was trying to get aggressive in the first corner, trying to hang onto Jake (Gagne) because I knew if I could slot in behind him, he would pull me, and I kind of had the pace over every one else after about lap 8 or 10.”

Next up for Westby Racing is round three of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on June 11 through 13.

MotoAmerica Superbike Standings:
1. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 81
2. Jake Gagne – Yamaha – 75
3. Josh Herrin – Yamaha – 61

The season couldn’t have started any better for Steven Odendaal, who joined the reigning world champions (Even Bros. Racing Team) this season after his promising debut season in the World Supersport Championship last year. Odendaal claimed his first maiden victory in race 1 on Saturday after making a pass on a fellow ex-Moto2 rider Dominique Aegerter into the last corner.

The conditions were completely different on Sunday as the rain made an unexpected appearance on the MotorLand Aragon circuit. Odendaal was able to stay calm and managed the race in an outstanding manner aboard his Yamaha R6, despite the tricky conditions, to make a decisive move once again into the last corner of the last lap and taking a double win and a championship lead with 50 points behind his belt.

Steven Odendaal: “It is an amazing feeling to take my first win in World Supersport and to back it up with another one today was just incredible for my confidence and moral. I have worked so hard for this moment and I can’t thank those who made this possible enough, especially the team, my family and my manager Jorge Lis. We didn’t start the season in the best way with a big crash on the first day of the official Barcelona test in April, where I dislocated my right shoulder, which caused extensive nerve damage. I am still suffering with pain and lack of strength so taking that into account as well, this weekend was a dream come true. The team made a great decision to go with an intermediate tyre today. I never used this tyre in my life before so I did not know what to expect and I had to be a bit careful in the opening stages of the race. It was an incredible battle and I felt so comfortable on the bike. Huge thanks to the Evan Bros. Racing Team, they did an incredible job and I cannot wait to be racing again in Estoril new weekend.”

Round 2 of the World Supersport Championship will take place next weekend in Estoril, Portugal.

Round 5 of the MotoGP calendar saw riders line up at the legendary Le Mans circuit this weekend for an action-packed and unpredictable SHARK Helmets Grand Prix of France. After round 1 of the MotoGP championship in Qatar, we already knew ‘GP’ had returned with an almighty bang for the 2021 season, but gee… did this French GP shock us.

Darryn Binder

Saturday, saw Darryn Binder roll his Petronas Sprinta Racing Moto3 bike onto a wet Le Mans circuit for Q2 qualifying. Darryn opted to use wet tyres during his run, but was unable to make his set-up work for him, with the first sectors still drying and conditions improving. At the end of qualifying our fellow, South African pushed hard and crossed the line with a 1:52.511 lap, placing him in 16th.

If getting a good start wasn’t hard enough, just imagine your airbag randomly deploying. Well, now that’s how Darryn Binder’s race started. After his airbag deployed, Darryn ran wide at turn 2 and found himself at the back of the field (24th) by the end of the first lap. After some deflation, Darryn started making his way through the pack and into sixth by lap five.

With a large gap between him and teammate John McPhee in fifth, Darryn pushed hard to close it down but had a turn 3 crash on lap seven. He quickly rejoined the race in 21st place, but the gap to the main field proved too big to bridge and he crossed the line 20th. Binder now sits 8th in the championship with 36 points.

Darryn Binder: “Unfortunately that result wasn’t what I had in mind today. I had a good launch off the line but my airbag went off going into the second corner, which nearly caused me to go into another rider. I ended up cutting the chicane and had to drop back. I made a really good comeback and passed a lot of riders. I felt good, had a decent rhythm and I was just keeping my pace. Unfortunately going into Turn 3 I lost the front and there was nothing I could do, although I continued riding it was pretty much the end of my race. I’m just looking forward to getting to Mugello now.”

Brad Binder

Brad Binder, had an unlucky qualifying session and struggled to find his feeling in the conditions. Qualifying saw Brad get stuck behind some yellow flags for two laps, forcing him to sit up and not cook the rear tyre—leaving him no time to set a fast lap. This all meant, Brad would have to start from 21st on race day.

The last race of the day, saw more unstable weather conditions at the forefront, creating busy, tricky and bizarre scenes for the 27-lapper of Le Mans. Although confusing, the race was declared a dry race, but with some looming dark clouds in the surrounds, we all knew a flag-to-flag sprint was beckoning. With the cool conditions, the entire field had selected the soft-soft slick Michelins to begin the race on, with some forecasts suggesting there might be some rain on the way—drama was on the way.

Off the line and as expected, the big red propelled their way to the front well Brad had some problems launching his RC16, forcing him to filter into last place. He quickly made his charge forward and managed to get past a few guys. Before you knew it, the dark clouds had rolled in and some rain spots started to appear on the camera lenses.

The heavens opened on lap 5 as the riders headed into turn 3, making the decision an easy one—get to pitlane. For Brad and a few other riders, this non-stop flag-to-flag format would be a first. With no grip at all, number 33 guided his machine into pitlane and exited onto a very wet track.

He rode within his limits well rider after rider met the gravel including teammate Miguel Oliveira. Brad crossed the line in 13th after surviving 27 very difficult laps around Le Mans.

Brad Binder: “A crazy race today. I had some problems at the start and ended up last into Turn 1. I managed to get past a few guys but then a few laps into the race we saw really dark clouds and some rain spots. It then really started pouring as we went through Turn 3. It was hard to get back to the pitlane because there was no grip at all. It was pretty dangerous. Starting again on wet tyres the grip was the worst we’ve had in the wet all weekend. It was my first flag-to-flag. A difficult race, a difficult weekend. I was glad to finish but not the position we wanted.”

Another absolutely breathtaking MotoGP race and our first flag-to-flag in four years. An awesome afternoon in France sees the top four in the title race sit just 16 points apart (Quartararo leading the way from Bagnaia, Zarco and Miller). Riders will now enjoy a short break, before moving to Mugello for the Gran Premio d’Italia (28-30 May).

With the 2021 Extreme XL Lagares finally kicking off from the 7th – 9th of May, Red Bull Athlete & Hard Enduro Phenom Wade Young will be flying off to Portugal again to take part in the XL Lagares which saw him cement a strong runner up finish in 2019. The KwaZulu born enduro racer first burst onto the scene in November 2012, when he became the youngest ever winner of the Roof of Africa in Lesotho.

We caught up with Wade ahead of his race in Portugal, here’s what he had to say…

How did the cancellation of the 2020 competition affect you?

“2020 was a strange year, strange for everyone, it was nice in the beginning to have a bit of a break but then if affected the whole season, it’s just getting a bit long now, it would be nice to get back racing.”

Did you have any injuries?

“I did have one or two injuries, my shoulder kept popping out, I had some time to heal that up”

What is a typical day of training?

“Sometimes I do an 80 km cycle, when I go riding in the bush, I’ll go for 3 hours and just play around. I’ll find one step or one splat and I’ll do it like 10 times and think about how I can do it better. I mix it up, I also do a bit of running, I just try to keep it fresh and not just the same repetitive things.”

Do you do any mental training?

“There are so many things that can wrong go wrong, just planning on how to adapt to all these things. Being at a race also helps because you learn the ropes, some of the races have the same hard sections”

What are your goals for the year?

“Every race I go in, I go in with the vision to win. Some of them suit me a bit better than others but the goals are always the same.”

Does nutrition play a role?

“I try to eat healthy, my biggest downfall is sweets! I have a very big sweet tooth! Before a race and during a race I eat beetroot, potatoes and a little bit of tuna, I’ll have a Red Bull 10 minutes before a high-intensity prologue race.”

We’re so happy to see this iconic Hard Enduro take place, especially after having to see it be postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. We can’t wait to see Wade take to the mountainous hills of Penafiel and make South Africa proud, in what’s to be a true test for all competitors, with numerous new twists and trails added in for good measure.

Following up his season-opening MotoAmerica Superbike race win on Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, West Racing’s Mathew Scholtz finished as runner-up in Sunday’s round-one-concluding race. On the strength of his first- and second-place finishes, Mathew is currently leading the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

Starting from the pole based on his number-one finishing position in race one, Mathew got off the line well, but he had to slot into second place going into turn one. He held the position for the first four laps and then moved into the lead on lap five, which he maintained until he was passed on lap seven. The race leader had to pit in order to serve a penalty for jumping the start, and then, fellow Yamaha Superbike rider Jake Gagne overtook Mathew, which kept him in second place where he stayed all the way to the checkered flag. Josh Herrin ultimately finished third behind Mathew, which completed the all-Yamaha Superbike podium.

“When Gagne passed me, I tried to hang onto him for about three or four laps afterwards and I was pushing super-hard,” Mathew said. “I nearly tucked the front in a couple of corners. He was stronger in some of the corners, I was stronger in some of the other sections. But, we were just going backwards and forwards, and it seemed to just wear my tires out pretty quickly. It helped me to see where his bike is better than ours. We need to just work on getting off the corner, but otherwise, I’m just happy to be back up here. Well done to Jake. Well done to Josh. It’s really awesome to have a Yamaha sweep. VIR is the next round for us, and it’s one of my strongest tracks, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Next up for Westby Racing is round two of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on May 21 through 23.

This weekend riders made their way up from Portugal and into Spain for the Red Bull Grand Prix. For the last 40 years, the circuit of Jerez has staged some spectacular MotoGP races, it also draws the ‘GP’ fans with its iconic VIP box (known as ‘the UFO’), its amazing rear-wheel slow-motion slides, through the carpet of yellow flowers at Sito Pons (turn 5) and lastly its final corner dives at Lorenzo (turn 13). With a mix of short, fast and tight corners Jerez was definitely going to make round 4 an intense challenge for the MotoGP grid.

Darryn Binder

Darryn started off his qualifying already in Q2, after an impressive performance on Friday’s free practice, claiming fifth in the combined times. Q2 saw the Petronas Sprinta rider cross the line with a 1’45.662, which put him into fourth. Unfortunately, at the halfway mark, a turn 7 high-side brought his session to an early end, but Darryn’s time was still good enough for seventh.

Race day saw a very focused and determined Darryn Binder line up on the third row of the grid. Our fellow South African let go of his clutch faster than anyone could off the line, gaining three places and claim fourth before braking into the opening corner. With some good pace, he overtook rider for rider before momentarily taking the lead on lap nine.

Throughout the entirety of the race, Darryn fought for podium positions and even started to look like a prime contender for the overall win. The second last lap saw Pedro Acosta nearly high-side in front of Darryn, forcing him to get off the gas and lose three positions, placing him in seventh. The last lap saw Darryn close down the gap and take his final lunge into the last corner. He dived down the outside and unfortunately, through no fault of his own, was caught up in another rider’s crash at the final corner. Darryn Binder was able to get his bike across the line in 22nd and now sits 6th in the world standings with 36 points.

DB: “This morning I still wasn’t feeling the best after my crash yesterday, but I had good speed and rhythm so I was feeling positive for the race. It got off to a good start and I was sitting in the lead group, but then I was struggling in the middle part. Physically I was feeling a little uncomfortable, but I was able to regroup towards the end and move towards the front again. As always with Moto3, there were some close calls around me, which interfered a bit with my plan and meant I was further back on the last lap than I would have liked to have been. In the final corner, I just had nowhere to go and was cleaned out by another rider who crashed. I’m so disappointed and there was nothing that I could have done, but at least we have shown that even on rough days we can be strong. Roll on Le Mans”.

Brad Binder

Like his brother, Brad Binder suffered a gnarly crash this weekend in the entry to Turn 5 during FP3 on Saturday morning. This all meant Brad couldn’t improve his time, leaving him with a short 15-min Q1 qualifying session to try and jump into the top 12 of Q2. Warm and wildly windy conditions didn’t stop Brad from setting a 1’37.3 on his third attempt, clinching him a Q2 qualifying. Binder ended Saturday’s action with 11th, meaning the fourth row and five positions ahead of Oliveira in 16th.

If you guys and girls remember anything about last years race, you’d remember Marc Marquez’s nasty fall and some seriously hot conditions. Sunday’s GP began with some sunny and warm conditions but in significantly lower temperatures compared to the 40 degrees ‘burner’ of 2020. With the heat rays rising, Brad rolled onto the fourth row of the grid on his stunning, Factory Red Bull KTM.

Brad made a good start and held his position well on the first lap around, slowly making his way into the leading group. Brad shocked us all, with a low-side crash into turn 2 on the second lap. He was able to remount and tried to catch the pack in the effort to salvage some points but another slow speed tumble at turn 13 ended his race weekend.

BB: “I felt great in warm-up this morning and then made a good start in the race but unfortunately going into Turn 2 on the second lap it looks like I was a bit too relaxed, got on the brakes at the wrong moment and when I tipped into the corner the front just washed out. It’s a good lesson for the future to ignore where you are in the pack and keep your marks. It’s also disappointing because I had good pace all weekend and I felt good. We could have done a decent job today. Sorry to the team because they worked well all through the GP and they deserved a result.”

A rather strange and frustrating weekend for the Binders in Jerez, with a weekend full of ‘could-have-beens’, rather than what should have been. On the upside, we saw Marc finish the race that nearly ended his career a year ago and we saw Fabio’s winning streak come to an end, due to some arm pump. Miller took his first dry race win and Rossi starting to realise GP just isn’t fun anymore, after rolling across the line in 17th.

After this eventful weekend, we just want to fast forward to the 16th of May, for the French GP in Le Mans.

After being forced to retire from the first round due to an illness, Brett Swanepoel was out for redemption as he lined-up for the second round of the National Enduro Championship this weekend. The event was hosted at Roodeberg Enduro Farm, Western Cape, and had everything from rocky riverbeds to unforgiving mountain climbs in store.

Undaunted by his less-than-ideal starting position, a determined Swanepoel set off to start clawing his way back up the leader board. On a route that demanded technical skills, immense fitness and a strong sense of grit, the rider wasted no time as he moved into the lead in the early stages of the race. Ahead of Bradley Cox and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammate Heinrich Aust, Swanepoel looked untouchable as he widened his gap on the rest of the field to snatch a comfortable victory.

“I know that my chances of winning the championship are very slim after I pulled out of the first round, but that doesn’t make me any less determined to win. I felt so confident out there on my TE 300i – I really needed a race like this this after the way the season started,” said an elated Swanepoel.

Teammate Aust put on an eye-catching performance this weekend as he secured yet another podium position for the season. The rider set off with a blistering pace and entered an intense bar-to-bar battle with E1 Championship rival Bradley Cox. Aust painstakingly pushed the pace up front for most of the event and was overtaken by Cox in the final race to the finish line. Pleased with a second position in his class and third place overall, the rider commented:

“I’m really happy with the way this season is unfolding. I knew it would be tight between Brad and I before the race even began. It’s always fun to have such a close championship – it makes things interesting! I really enjoyed how technical the terrain was today and I’m really looking forward to racing the Extreme event too,” said Aust.

After his team’s successful day in the saddle, Husqvarna South Africa’s Fred Fensham commented: “It was an awesome event – thanks and compliments go to the Roodeberg Farm owners and Graham and his team for a great track! On the team side, I am so proud of both our riders. Brett was outstanding as was Heinrich. Thanks to Anthony, our mechanic, for the bike prep as they did not miss a beat! Now we look forward to the first round of the Extreme series.”

Brother Leader Tread KTM walked away with top honours at the second round of the National Enduro Championship. In an epic battle for Enduro glory, Bradley Cox stormed to his second National E1 Enduro victory of the season and second overall.

The event was hosted by Roodeberg Enduro Farm – a venue in the heart of the Western Cape renowned for its unforgiving terrain and scenic mountain trails. After his blistering start the season, Cox lined-up with a fresh sense of confidence and strong determination to defend his championship lead.

It was once again Cox and championship rival Heinrich Aust that went head-to-head in a battle for the top step in the E1 Class. After a game of cat and mouse for most of the route, Cox describes “digging deep” to overtake his competitor in the final push to the finish line.

“The last time I tried to defend the red plate in an Enduro race I was recovering from a broken ankle, so I was a lot fitter this time around. I had to dig really deep to push for the victory and I couldn’t be happier with how everything came together,” said Cox.

Brother Leader Tread KTM teammate Kirsten Landman also experienced a race of redemption this weekend. The rider made her comeback at the start of the season after a lengthy time off due to injury. She described the first round as a “wake-up call” and spent the last few weeks conditioning her body for the second round.

In what was an eye-catching performance, Landman managed to finish 8th in the highly competitive E2 Class and 15thoverall. She commented: “It was a tough day in the saddle, but I couldn’t be happier with the way I finished. I worked hard to condition myself for the physical demands that come with racing at this level, and I could feel that it really paid off today.”

A cherry on top of what was a successful day of racing for the team was a solid finish from new Enduro recruit Charan Moore. The multi-disciplined rider suffered an unfortunate crash at the last round of the National Cross Country Championship and was determined to put consistent laps together at this event. With a respectable fifth place in the E2 Class and eighth place overall, the rider said: “My preparation and setup were a bit off for the conditions, but I’m happy with the improvements and direction we’re moving in. It was an awesome weekend with the entire time!”

Riders made their way to Portugal this weekend for the first daylight race of 2021 and the opening fixture in Europe. Sunny and warm conditions in southern Portugal, invited the riders to dive straight into some hot laps around the 4.6 km layout of climbs, drops and diverse corners at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve circuit. With the track itself being a relatively new circuit on the GP calendar, and a host of newcomers on new machinery, this race weekend was surely going to be an exciting one.

Darryn Binder

Saturday’s qualifying started out great for Darryn Binder, with a fast time in Q1 securing him a spot in Q2. Darryn waited until the final moments of Q2 to make his final qualifying time attack run. Now, here is where it gets rather confusing. Darryn clinched eighth in qualifying, but with the two riders ahead of him starting from the pit lane, Darryn moved up into sixth. Soon after qualifying, Darryn gets handed a pitlane start for irresponsible riding during qualifying.

With a swarm of roaring Moto3 bikes all lined up, the lights went out, but for Darryn, his ten-second wait had just begun. Around the first corner they went and off the line Darryn leapt on his Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda, beginning his chase. Despite this curveball of a start, our fellow South African battled hard to try and close the gap to the main pack.

Although he made good progress at the beginning and was able to join the tail end of the pack, Darryn was unable to maintain the speed and suffered from grip issues. With the camera’s focusing upfront, a steady eye was constantly seeing Darryn floating in the top 20. With the chequered flag out, Binder crossed the line in 20th and now sits third in the championship with 36 pts.

DB: “I had an alright weekend and felt strong in all the practice sessions and qualifying wasn’t too bad, I would have started from the second row. I feel like I’ve been handed a really hard penalty from qualifying yesterday, which meant I had to start from the pitlane. It is what it is, but unfortunately in the race, I didn’t have the pace. We need to look over everything and see what we can do to improve. I’m really sorry to the team for picking up the penalty and for the result today. Hopefully, in Jerez, we can be back to how we were in the first two races of the year.”

Brad Binder

Saturday’s qualifying session saw, Brad Binder ride really well in Q2 and nearly push through into Q1 but unfortunately, a small mistake ruined his best flying lap effort. Our ‘Sunday Rider’ also bagged the quickest time through the first sector. Brad would eye the start lights from 15th and have Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Danilo Petrucci (18th) and Iker Lecuona (19th) behind him. Although Brad struggled to make a quick lap in qualifying, he was positive for Sunday due to his KTM RC16 set-up and pace in Free Practice 4.

Brad made an excellent start, leaping from 15th on the grid to 8th on the first lap and then started to hunt down the front-runners. Binder, kept his composure in the leading group, battling with the likes of Marc Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro for 7th. With the leading group starting to pull away, Brad slid into the lead of the following group and started to make inroads on the front runners.

Brad would eventually take profit of both Alex Rins and Johann Zarco’s low side crashes, bumping him up into 5th. Binder laid it all out on the final two laps and was beginning to close in on the battle for the podium. A little too late, as the chequered flag came out and Binder crossed the line in 5th.

BB: “Happy to get our first top-five of the season. I really wanted to be on the podium today and thought we had the potential to be there with about five laps to go. I pushed as hard as I could but I couldn’t put the key clean laps together at the end as much as I wanted. Overall, I gave my absolute best today and didn’t leave anything on the table. A massive thanks to the team because we did a great job getting the bike ready for the race and we’ll go again in Jerez.”

A crazy weekend of racing is followed by a well-deserved weekend off. A close look at the GP calendar says, the next race will be a Spanish GP at the end of April/start of May, and already the title race is twisting and turning. After all, this is MotoGP.